pressure washing safe for every- wash use?

C

CTSV

New member
I have a 2200psi gas pressure washer that's sitting in the garage collecting dust. I had not thought to use it on the cars, I had figured even on a broad setting it might do more harm than good or remove my LSP..



am I being paranoid and is it safe/OK to use everytime I want to hand-wash the vehicle or blow dirt off?



Thanks in advance.
 
Totally safe, just use common sense and do not allow the tip to get too close, that is where the pressure is. Think about it, if you hold the tip 3,4, or even 5 feet away, you are in essence misting and there will be very little pressure, especially with a 2200 psi washer (though the gpm is more important).
 
Thanks, I had figured this was simply an irrational conclusion I simply hadent thought enough about.
 
Yep, with some common sense it's totally safe and I've been using them on cars for over 20 years now. I'd suggest a 15 degree tip (if it has a removable one) or just adjust the spray patter the wider spray setting.
 
IMO, its safer when used properly and in most cases uses less water than a traditional hose. The biggest advantage over a hose is it will wash away nearly all of the abrasive dirt from the finish of the car. All that remains is the road grime film which is non abrasive. This means you can get rather careless about your wash technique and not get any wash induced swirls as there is no dirt to push around. You can get rid of the extra buckets, extra time fussing over clean mits,etc. Its a huge time and money saver.



Someone is going to come in and say you can cause serious damage, especially with a gas pressure washer, and yes, when used improperly, you can create a great deal of damage.
 
If you can swap out the tip via quick connects, get a tip with a 1200-1300psi orifice that is designed to flow the gpm your pressure washer puts out. That way you get the cleaning power of the gpm and the safety of the lower psi. Remember, its the gallons per minute that give you the cleaning power, not so much the psi. The more water you flow, the more cleaning power you will have.
 
Dan said:
Someone is going to come in and say you can cause serious damage, especially with a gas pressure washer, and yes, when used improperly, you can create a great deal of damage.
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OK, I'll be that someone :chuckle: There are some vehicles where I'm 100% certain that I'd have an "oops!" with regard to fragile trim...the kind of stuff I had to be careful with anyhow.



But yeah..that's "weird special case" stuff and used properly, on a vehicle without any funny issues, the pw oughta be fine. I keep thinking I oughta get a new one myself (though I'm getting by OK with the siphon-feed sprayer that hooks to the compressor).



The whole idea of using it to get the "big stuff" off has a *LOT* of appeal; it'd pretty much replace most of my BHB-centric first step. And just using it for a deionized water rinse (yeah, I know... bad for the pump) would be a good way to keep the beaters a little nicer between washes during the winter.
 
Accumulator said:
OK, I'll be that someone :chuckle: There are some vehicles where I'm 100% certain that I'd have an "oops!" with regard to fragile trim...the kind of stuff I had to be careful with anyhow.
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I knew that statement would lure you in! If you get an electric with a fan nozzle, you'll have nothing to worry about. I've even oops'd my hands a few times here and there, it hurt, but its not going to rip trim off.



Gas or 220+v electric is another story. I've taken powder coated paint off newish wheels with a 440v three phase heated power washer back before I knew better.
 
I use mine everyday for 6 years now. Some cars see me twice a week. It's perfectly safe if you know what you're doing.
 
Dan- Heh heh, yeah...I knew you'd see me coming on this thread ;) I never had any problems with the Karchers I used to have, but I didn't use 'em on those "fragile vehicles" either.



Next PW I buy has to be electric, not sure what I'll go with :confused: I was spoiled by my gas powered one (and I bet yours is great for the $) and all the electrics I like are pricey and hard to get service for.
 
Santa brought me an AR Blue 610. I'll be putting my Husky out of its misery come spring.
 
George, get a Northern Tool - NorthStar electric - about $450 and worth every penny. Brandon1 turned me onto this and I have never regretted the purchase. I use it every wash.
 
JuneBug said:
George, get a Northern Tool - NorthStar electric - about $450 and worth every penny. Brandon1 turned me onto this and I have never regretted the purchase. I use it every wash.
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How does it handle (assuming it does...) chemical injection?



And heh heh...don't underestimate my ability to kill a durable unit ;)
 
JuneBug said:
It has a hose/pick-up tube for chem injection.
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Mine has a port for that as well--- any reason I should pickup a foam attachment for the wand instead of using the pickup tube?
 
CTSV said:
Mine has a port for that as well--- any reason I should pickup a foam attachment for the wand instead of using the pickup tube?
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I have this chemical injector that I use on my house washes......

This Newest Addition to General Pumps Injector Line - INJECTORS GENERAL PUMP / ADAMS



I have used foam guns and this is by FAR the best method to presoak a vehicle with. To me, to much foam just rolls off. It has so much air that adds weight.



Good info here too.......

DOWNSTREAM INJECTION TEK ARTICLE - INJECTORS GENERAL PUMP / ADAMS
 
fantastic! I believe the pump on mine is 6% , I'll have to check if this is enough for my car wash but good to know I won't need to spend $$$ on a separate unit.





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